Meet the Parents
by mwendyr
Summary: Alex had intended to have a lazy, peaceful Sunday but it seemed that everyone else had other ideas. Sequel to The Advisory. C3 & C4 has been added
1. Chapter 1

Sequel to The Advisory, as part of my Mike/Alex series.

A/N - Firstly I would like to thank everyone who has reviewed any story in this particular series. The support has been phenomenal. I personally like to reply to people who review (since they've taken the time to leave one) so ... - **Podie1 **- I just want to thank you for taking the time to review every single one. That means alot to me and I appreciate you taking the time to let me know what you think. When I got those reviews I was getting ready for work and it cheered me up so much, I'm delighted. Here's another to feed your new addiction and I hope it doesn't disappoint.

Summary: Alex intended to have a peaceful, lazy Sunday but everyone else seemed to have other ideas.

Pairing: Mike/Alex

Reviews: Please, they are as sweet as candy and taste as good too. ;)

**Meet the Parents**

Alex Eames stretched her entire body to loosen up every knot she owned. Her body aching with disagreement at the action she had just taken. Fully enjoying the fact that it was Sunday, and for once, she didn't have to go anywhere, she didn't have to do anything. All she had to do was relax and for the first time in her life she had decided that she was going to take the day to do just that. She turned her head, sleepily, and looked at the clock. It read 10.30am, the pre-programmed alarm having gone off hours ago. She vaguely remembered hitting the snooze button and than eventually giving a good, swift smack to shut the disturbing sound off completely when it had interrupted her sleep for a second time.

Finally becoming of bored of laying down she slowly got out of bed, not even bothering to grab her dressing gown as she lazily dragged her feet into her bathroom to brush her teeth. She'd just finished that task when she thought she heard a bell ringing. Strange, she left the bathroom and walked into the living area just as the bell rang again.

It was the doorbell.

Sighing, Alex rushed back to her room to get her dressing gown and returned to open the door. Squinting at the light she found it difficult to see but when she did she was stunned at who was at her door. She certainly hadn't invited anyone over and she wasn't exactly dressed for company.

Taken back a little, she managed to find her voice, "Dad? Mom? What are you guys doing here?" In her confusion she began to worry that she'd invited them round and hadn't remembered.

"Hmmm." Her mom replied, looking slightly unsteady on her feet. Her father, John Eames, was holding her up with his arm around her waist. "I know we taught you better manners than that. I didn't hear an 'hello' in there, did you John?" Her father smirked at Alex and shook his head in response to his wife's question.

"Hello." She said, sarcastically. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Oooh, I take it you're not happy to see us then, honey?" Her father seemed to be finding it funny, but she couldn't be sure. Alex couldn't help but notice that her question had been overstepped again.

"Yes, I am. I just didn't expect you ..."

She was interrupted by her father, "Are you going to let us in?" He asked, his impatience was due to the fact that his wife was getting heavier to hold up. Maggie Eames, her mother, had difficulty walking by herself since her stroke and refused to use a wheelchair for fear of looking like an invalid. There was absolutely nothing wrong with her as far as she was concerned. She just didn't have alot of control of her body. "Or is there some man in your bed that you don't want us to know about?" John grinned when he saw his daughter begin to blush a little.

"Uh, no, no, come in." Alex tried to cover it up but she could see her father had noticed her reaction. She stepped aside to let them past her, and closed the door behind them. John walked with Maggie all the way to the nearest comfortable seat and helped her seat down. Then he turned back to Alex and gave her a smile.

"Does your old man get a hug?" He held his arms, indicating to her what he wanted. Alex's face broke out in a huge smile as she rushed forward and he wrapped his arms around.

"Of course, daddy!" She always called him 'daddy' when they were alone. Although, they'd never do such a thing in public. Both were too proud for that kind of thing. When they let go of each other, she went over to her mother and did the same. Letting go of her mother Alex said, "I'm just gonna change. I won't be long." She rushed off, leaving them alone in her living room.

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When she felt she looked more human and more presentable she went back out into the living room and sat down opposite the seats they'd chosen to sit in. "So, what are you guys doing here? And please, don't say it's just a visit. You never just visit." She asked as she felt the need to find out what was going on. It wasn't like her parents to just show up whenever they felt like it. They would usually call her first if they wanted to do that.

"Well, honey, we've been worried about you." Maggie replied, her voice full of concern for her daughter, who didn't seem to understand where that worry was coming from.

"Why?" Alex asked, watching her parents exchange a look that she couldn't quite work out.

"Because we haven't seen you in months. You haven't called. And whenever we called you, you didn't seem to answer." Her father didn't just sound worried, he spoke with accusatory tone of voice. "We're starting to get very worried about you."

"I've called you." Alex tried to sound convincing but she wasn't sure who she was trying to convince; her parents or herself, "I've seen you. We've spoken lots of times." She watched them both shake their heads, their faces full of concern, "Haven't we?" They continued to shake their heads and she felt herself drop inside as she realised with a pang that she hadn't seen them... but months? "How many months?"

Maggie looked at John and then back at Alex, "You're father is exaggerating a little with that, sweetheart. It's only really been two months... but for your father, that's a long time."

Alex looked at her father who seemed more hurt than worried now. "Oh, dad, I'm sorry. I just... I just didn't realise that it had been that long." She really wanted to hug him but she didn't think it would help. "I've been so busy."

"With what?" He asked, curious.

Alex tried to think of a suitable answer, "Work." She replied, her face must have given her a way somewhat because her father didn't seem to buy her answer and neither did her mother.

"Work?" Her father asked and Alex nodded. He shook his head to say his disagreed. Alex opened her mouth to argue but was stopped short of actually make a verbal sound by her mothers voice.

"Alex, you've always been busy with work. You've never let it get in the way of being with your family. Even if it was just for five minutes."

"I'm sorry." Alex really didn't know what else to say. They seemed to be taking it personally and she really hadn't meant to be so distant. "I'm just sorry. I didn't realise."

"You didn't miss us?" John asked, showing to her that he really was hurt. "You didn't think about us? For two months?" She knew how much family meant to her father and this was one of those 'no, no's' in his unwritten rule book.

"It's not like that, Dad, really. I just lost track of the time." Alex wanted to cry but she refused to do so, not in front of her father. Not in front of anyone.

"Is this about some guy?" Her father asked, suddenly reminding her of a time when she was 16 and she'd come home late several nights in a row.

"Why would you ask that?" She didn't want to answer the question.

"Why didn't you answer the question?" He countered.

"Why didn't you?" She also countered him, refusing to back down.

Her mother put up her hand in the stop sign. "Enough. I don't like it when the two of you interrogate each other. You never damn well answer!" Both Alex and John looked at her, annoyed, that she'd stopped the flow.

John decided to use a different tactic on his youngest daughter, "So, when did you start drinking beer?"

Alex, once again, was confused. Were her parents on drugs? "Beer? I don't drink beer."

"No?" He asked and she shook her head to confirm her answer. "Then maybe you could explain who drank this one." John reached to the side of his chair and pulled out a used bottle of bud that had been left on the floor.

Alex suddenly felt like sinking into the floor and possibly the ground whilst she was at it. She was definitely being reduced to that 16 year old, who had met the full force of her fathers' wrath, and was doing it again now. Funny, how it's only your father that can do that to you no matter how old you are or how 'grown up' you're meant to be. "Uh, it was... Bobby's." She looked at her fathers unconvinced face. "Yeah, he must have left it there the last time he was here." She was nodding a little whilst she spoke, desperately wishing this to end.

"Bobby's?" Her father asked, her mother was putting her face into her hands and Alex knew that something 'big' was about to happen. Alex nodded as her father began tossing the bottle from one hand to another as if it were a juggling ball. "I've come to know your partner really well over the years, Alex and I distinctly remember having a conversation about what kinds of beer we like."

"Oh, really?" Alex asked, feeling a little nervous by the way her father was speaking to her.

"Yes, really. And he told me that he didn't like bud. It wasn't one of his favourite German beers. As a matter of fact he told me he'd only ever had it once and refused to drink it ever again." He spoke, looking at her directly in the eyes. Watching her face as his point hit home. Trust her father to remember details like that.

The doorbell rang again and Alex had to hold back the words 'saved by the bell' as she leaped from her chair and rushed to answer it. She grabbed the door handle and without even checking who was there she swung the door open fully so that her parents could also see who was at the door. She swung it open so fast that the rush of wind blew her hair about. She knew she was standing with her mouth open wide but she couldn't close it. It wasn't because she didn't like her visitor, oh no, she did. It was just that his timing sucked.

"Mike!" She sounded nervous and that was all she could offer in greeting to the man at her door. Mike Logan, the man at the door, looked at her with curiosity. He couldn't help but notice the two unfamiliar people in her living room. Watching her he felt the worry, that she had written on her face, rub off on him.

"Alex?" he asked, unaware of the dangers that lay ahead he continued, "What's going on?"

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TBC


	2. Chapter 2

A/N - Okay so when I logged in this morning I found my story had 5 reviews. 5! That's a big number for me and for this series (in one go) so YAY. Yes, I do love parents, I think all fathers are overprotective of their daughters every once-in-a-while and this little story has been incredibly funny to write.

Here's Chapter 2

**Meet the Parents**

Well to say that Mike Logan was confused would be an understatement. But that's exactly what he was. Confused and unsure of what would be happening, he watched Alex as she seemed to be in some kind of shock. He watched the two unfamiliar people look between him and Alex with both suspicion and amusement.

"Alex." The silver haired man spoke her name with some kind of authority, although he didn't seem to be overpowering. "Why don't you let him in?" He was definitely amused although Mike felt he'd interrupted something important from the irritated look on the woman's face.

Mike looked at Alex who shook herself out of her daze and stood aside to let Mike in. Mike walked into the house slowly, unsure of what was going to happen. Was the atmosphere heavy in here? "Uh, Alex?" Mike felt the need to repeat his question since she hadn't answered the first time. Alex looked at him as she closed the door, "What's going on?"

Alex, who was now definitely more alert, completely out of her daze, looked at Mike and then at her parents. "Mike." she pointed at Mike, "Mom, Dad." she pointed at her parents. "John and Maggie, this is Mike Logan." She pointed back to Mike. Her introduction was quick, and she seemed nervous, Mike suddenly felt a little small as he realised who they were.

"Uh..." Mike shook himself and then took a step forward. Although he felt the need to stay near to Alex for some reason. He outstretched his arm and hand to shake the man's hand. "Pleased to meet you, sir." they shook hands and then Mike took Maggie's hand, "And you, ma'am."

"Ooooh." Maggie seemed to get a little excited, although not overly so. She looked at her daughter, who was not allowing any eye contact from anyone. "He seems nice." Alex tried to hold back the smile at her mother's approving comments.

"Logan?" John asked, as if he recognised the name. Mike nodded. "Logan... Logan... I know that name." John kept repeating his last name whilst he tried to remember. He then suddenly clicked his fingers as the proverbial lightbulb came on inside his head. "Logan. You don't happen to make a habit of punching city councilman do you?"

Mike was stunned by the bluntness of his question, looking at Alex who just shrugged. "Uh, not a habit, no. Just the once." Her father seemed pleased with his response, which just added to Mike's confusion. Why did that please him?

"So the two of you are..." John pointed at the two of them with his finger but was interrupted by Alex.

"Friends! We're friends, we're good friends." She looked at Mike and he looked at her for a moment and then turned to her parents. Alex seemed to be pleading with her eyes, and it was the kind of pleading that Mike couldn't just ignore.

"Damn good friends." choosing to agree with her with a good nod. But when he looked at their faces he knew, without a doubt, that they didn't believe them. They all stood there, apart from Maggie, looking at each other, waiting for a let up, a sign of defeat on either side but it never came.

"Okay." Her mother broke the silence that had formed between them, feeling too uncomfortable to let it continue. "Alex, little Janey is cooking dinner - with her mothers supervision of course - and I'm sure she'd love it if Auntie Alex and her... friend... turned up for dinner." As Maggie said 'friend' she looked at Mike, who felt like he'd been busted. Maggie then looked back at Alex, waiting for an answer.

"Uh, actually..." Alex started

"We'd love to." Mike finished. "Sounds like fun to me." Alex turned her head to Mike and gave him the deadliest look. Alex looked at her parents, gave a little smile and then grabbed hold of Mike's hand.

"Excuse us." She turned and dragged Mike into her kitchen. It didn't escape John's eye that Alex didn't grab him by the arm or his jacket, she'd took his hand to do so.

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As soon as they were in the kitchen Alex let go of his hand and turned to face him. "This is not a good idea." She said, defiantly.

"Why? What's wrong with meeting your family?" Mike asked, puzzled by her reaction.

"Nothing... uh... " Alex sighed, and looked at the ceiling before continuing. "Look, just before you got here my Dad told me that apparently I've not spoken to them for two months and let's just say he's a little pissed at me right now."

"Two months? Did you guys fall out?" Mike watched her as she shook her head and sighed again. He could see how frustrating this was for her.

"No, two months ago it was the Garrett case and then I guess I've just...been busy." She looked at him and rolled her eyes when she noticed his smug expression. "You're not allowed to be pleased with yourself." She pointed at him, trying to be cross but the smirk on his face was a little infectious but she was determined to not get caught up in it.

"Well, time flies when you're having fun." He offered the cliche as explanation. Alex rolled her eyes at him again. "Alright, look, you say your Dad's mad at you?" Alex nodded, "Well, would skipping out on dinner really help?" Alex looked at him and she couldn't deny his logic. She shook her head and Mike stopped her from shaking it when he gently cupped her face with his hands. "I was serious when I said I was serious. I'd love to meet your family."

"I'm serious too, which is why I think this is a bad idea." He took his hands off her face and rubbed her shoulders instead whilst she spoke.

"What's the worst that could happen?" Mike asked, seemingly cocky.

Alex snorted, "The worst? Well if everyone's there you're going to be bombarded with a billion questions from each. Tested by my father and end up with food poisoning from Janey's cooking."

"Okay well I'll answer everyones questions, I'll try to pass your fathers test and I'll check the food is cooked before eating it." He kicked down every single one of her arguements in one fell swoop. She put her hands on his waist and she sighed when she realised she'd been defeated. Everyone of his arguments had been logical and she didn't want to piss her father off anymore than she already had.

"Oh God, I am so going to regret this." Alex groaned but Mike grinned.

"Are you kidding? I'm looking forward to this."

"That's because you don't know what's going to happen." She reasoned and his grin grew wider. She rolled her eyes at him and he leaned it to kiss her sweetly, only deepening it when she pulled him closer. They seperated a little and she looked at him, she couldn't understand why he was looking forward to meeting her family, she just guessed it was another part of his mystery that she'd probably never figure out. It didn't stop her from being curious about it though.

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Despite the fact that her father had insisted that she and Mike ride in their car with them, Alex was driving her car - following them, with Mike sitting next to her. Her reason being, which she had not voiced, that they could duck out whenever they wanted if she had her own car there.

Mike was looking forward to getting there because he was going to get to see another side to Alex, he couldn't understand why she seemed so nervous. "How long does it take to get there?" Mike asked, wanting to break the silence in the car.

"Not long, we're almost there. As a matter of fact... we're here." He looked out the windshield and saw the car they'd been following was turning into a driveway. Alex followed suit and parked her car behind theirs. She looked at Mike, who smiled at her, trying to convince her that it'd be okay. "You ready?" Mike nodded and she finally gave him a huge smile and he was relieved. "Then let's go." They both stepped out of the car at the same time. They walked upto her parents and they managed to get several metres from the front door before several young children rushed out the house screaming out for 'Aunt Alex'. Four of them came out, three girls and one boy, all looking like they were under the age of 10.

Mike laughed as they rushed into her making her grunt a little at the full force of the impact she'd suffered. "Hi, kids." she greeted them with a huge smile.

One of the little boys, aged 5, looked at Mike at seemed scared of him. Mike tried his best to be friendly but he just frightened the boy even more. The boy grabbed hold of Alex's hand and pointed at Mike. "Who's that?" he asked, and Alex looked at Mike and then back at the boy.

"Oh, that's my friend Mike." she told them, turning back to Mike to share a smile.

"Okay, kids, back into the house." John told them with a stern voice but affectionate smile.

"Okay Grandpa." they chorused, each of them grabbing one of Alex's and Mike's hand, they pulled them into the house. "Come on Aunt Alex, come on Mike, let's go inside." Mike winked at Alex as they were dragged inside by the children.

John kept a tight hold of Maggie as they walked inside, "Notice how they don't run to us when she's here." Maggie told him and John smiled. John knew the reason behind that - Alex was the kind of aunt who played with them outside, sometimes roughly, and she was also the aunt who they rarely got to see.

Walking inside, Alex and Mike's hands were released by the children. "Alex!" a male voice called out with excitement as soon as they were fully into the house. Alex turned to see her brother, Eric, walking over to her with his arms open wide. "If it isn't my elusive sister." Alex felt herself groan on the inside but she smiled at him and they hugged each other. When they let go he looked at Mike with fascination, "And you are?"

"This is Alex's friend." said the little boy who had been afraid of Mike. The boy seemed proud of himself for announcing that simple fact.

"Oh, her friend?" Eric asked, looking at Mike, he held out his hand to shake it.

Mike held out his. "Yeah, I'm Mike, Mike Logan." They shook hands vigorously. Alex smiled at them, thinking for a moment that this was going to be okay but she knew, she just knew, that something was about to drop and sure enough Eric didn't let her down.

"Well pleased to meet you, Mike. The last time Alex brought a 'friend' round all hell broke lose, I mean it was a disaster!" Eric said, joy feeling his features as he exaggerated the word 'disaster' by spreading out his arms to indicate 'huge'. Mike looked at Alex, who tried to shrug it off, but in truth it had been embarrassing.

It had happened when she'd brought her last boyfriend, Terry, round to meet everyone, he'd become so overwhelmed with everyone he'd lost his temper. Soon after that an argument ensued and a food fight broke out and Alex had spent the next day, in its entirety, cleaning up the mess just to appologise to her parents.

"Okay, you guys can sit down if you want." John said, when he'd helped Maggie into her own personal comfortable seat. "You don't have to stand."

Whilst Mike chose to take them up on their offer and sit down on the nearest seat, Alex was a little more reluctant to do so. Her mind telling herself that she should just grab Mike and bolt for the door whilst she still could. But Mike took hold of her arm to gently remind her to sit down. Offering her father a smile, she turned and sat down on the seat next to Mike. Not wanting him out of her sight for fear of what might go wrong.

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TBC


	3. Chapter 3

**Podie1** - Thank you. Healthy groupies are welcome, all welcome. LOL. That was very kind of you to say and I appreciate that. :)

Here's Chapter 3

**Meet the Parents**

Shortly after Alex and Mike had sat down, a young girl, covered in all kinds of food ingredients had come out of the kitchen. Her face beaming with pride, grinning, she had announced that dinner was served. Everyone had suddenly become enthusiastic for dinner, and Alex had led Mike into the dining room. They'd sat down together, next to each other, both not wanting to be seperate.

The food was in dishes at the table, everyone's plate was empty but warm inviting the food in. "Well, it smells good!" Mike said, enthusiastically, winking at the little girl, Janey, who'd spent the better part of the morning cooking. This earned him a beaming smile from the girl, who seemed to be quite shy. Alex smiled at him and shook her head in amusement. Everyone was seated, there were alot of people around the table. Mike didn't dare count them all.

Alex, as if she could read his thoughts, spoke directly into his ear, "You'll be okay." Mike was a little surpised by her sudden positivity about the situation. "Just get stuck in because if you don't, you won't get anything." She was referring to the food at the table. People had already begun passing around bowls of vegetables. Mike nodded, finding it incredibly funny even if it was a little overwhelming, he'd never been in a situation like this. It was like The Waltons, only on a much larger scale.

He managed to put some meat on his plate and some potato's but it seemed that Alex was right - bowls were being passed in every direction except for his. But luckily for him, Alex managed to get a hold of some veggies and she passed it to him before anyone else could take it from her.

The noise level in the room had risen to a point where it was becoming white noise. Mike couldn't make out anything that was being said to anyone. The only person he could understand was Alex and that was because she was talking to him, near his ear, ensuring that he could hear her. But it didn't go unnoticed because a large, high-pitched whistle made the talking stop and everyone turned to the woman who'd done it. "Hey, guys, come on. Mike's never done this before. Let's not overpower him with the Eames chatter!"

"Thank you. I - uh - I can hear fine now. Thanks." Mike replied, rubbing his ear, speaking quietly because he noticed that all eyes were on him. Alex looked at him and she couldn't help it, she just had to smirk. Mike looked back at the woman who'd made everyone shut up.

"I'm Katie, Alex's eldest sister." She offered as introduction, she'd not met the man yet but she'd discovered his name from her son who'd met him at the door. "You've already met my son David at the door when you arrived." Mike noticed the little boy sitting next to her and he just smiled at him. "And my daughter, Janey, cooked the lovely meal we're eating."

"Pleased to meet you." Mike replied, just literally a second before another woman chose to spoke up. She seemed excited and extremely bubbly.

"Ooooh, are we doing introductions?" She asked, without waiting for an answer she dived into hers. "I'm Jo, the other sister. This man sitting next to me is Karl, my husband." she continued, the man in question just nodded. "This little man is my son, Nathan." she pointed to the toddler sat in between her and her husband. Alex was smiling at the little boy more than the others and that didn't go unnoticed by Mike. Turning to her brother, Eric, she poked him to remind him to do his introduction.

"Oh, no, see we've already met. I was actually good enough to introduce myself when he arrived." Eric said, with a grin, leaning back on his chair, feeling proud of himself at having beaten everyone else to the punch.

"It's true, they did." Alex told Jo with a small apologetic smile. Alex then turned to Mike, "Eric is the baby of the family." That earned her a snort from the brother in question, who hated being referred to as the 'baby' even when he had been one.

"Okay, well, I'm John, her brother." A man who was clearly older than Alex by a long shot spoke up after the room had fallen silent. Mike looked at Alex's father and then back at the man who'd spoken. "Oh, right, I was named after my Dad."

"To save confusion we call Dad, Dad." Alex provided the explanation. "Everyone. Only mom calls him by his name." They looked back at John, who clearly still had more to say.

"Son, you can call me Johnny if you prefer." Her father told him, Mike was grateful and he nodded his appreciation.

"Those three young ladies are my children." John continued, the three ladies in question rolled their eyes, they didn't liked being called children, although they were clearly under 18. "Lucy, Ashley and Liz." They just waved at Mike. Everyone then turned to the final person in the room, who was greatly tucking into his meal without paying attention to topic of conversation.

"Oh, right." he finally noticed them watching, "I'm Steve, brother, and I'm sorry you couldn't meet the wife and kids but they're at some theatre production."

"Theatre production?" Alex asked, puzzled.

"Yeah, they've been going to rehearsals for about a month now, Al, I'm surprised you didn't know." Steve replied, looking at her sister as she just looked a little guilty.

"I've been busy." Alex told him, although she knew that that excuse was starting to sound pathetic, even to her. Steve raised an eyebrow to show that he wasn't sure if he could believe that one.

"With work, apparently." Her father chimed up informing everyone of the 'reason' for her excuse.

Her sister, Jo, snorted loudly. "Yeah, I can see you've been busy though it wasn't really work, was it?" Jo laughed at Alex's embarrassment.

"Actually, Major Case has had alot of cases piling up lately." Mike replied for Alex, Alex felt extremely grateful for the way he was kindly standing up for her, even if it was a liitle bit of a stretch of truths. "Her and Goren seem to always end up with the really hard ones."

"You're at Major Case, Mike?" Her father asked, curious. He hadn't known Mike was at Major Case, but that's what he'd just inferred from what Mike had just said.

"Yeah." Mike replied, "I've been there for about 9 months." He couldn't help but feel some pride at having surprised Alex's father a little. He seemed more than shocked that he worked there.

"I thought you got booted to Staten Island for punching that councilman?" He asked another question, his curiosity peaking. He was absolutely certain that was what he'd read in the paper.

"What did you do at Staten Island?" Steve asked, who was also a cop, he'd now forgotton his meal completely now he knew that Mike was a cop, now he knew that Mike was _the _cop that got everyone in this family talking about 11 years ago.

"Domestic Abuse cases, watched the ferries, ate hotdogs - stuff like that." Mike replied, he felt like he was being bounced around the room like a ping pong ball.

"Wait, you went from domestic abuse to Major Case? How did you do that? I'm stuck at Vice and let me tell you, I've tried to get into Major Case." Steve continued, in awe at the fact that Mike had managed to pull himself to that kind of high from that kind of low.

"Captain Deakins pulled some strings to get him there. He helped with a case a year ago and he did good work so..." Alex replied for him, sensing Mike's unease at the turn of the topic.

Maggie helped out with that a little, "Janey, sweetheart, I don't suppose you made Grandma some pudding?" Janey looked at her and shook her head slightly, suddenly grabbing her mother and hiding. The room erupted into laughter and talk as everyone decided that they needed to rectify that immediately.

"...We can bake cookies..."

"...I could wip up some ice cream sundaes..."

"...maybe we could make chocolate cake..."

"...or we could just buy one..."

"...I think there's some trifle in the fridge..."

"...How do you guys keep track of what's being said..."

"...I've got some skittles in my car, that..."

"...If we make cake, Grandma could lick the bowl..."

"...There's no real way of keeping track..."

"...Bought cakes taste like plastic..."

"...Oh, sweetie, don't touch that..."

SMASH!!!!

A glass bowl had been grabbed by the 5 year old boy, David, who'd had enough of the 'conversation', he had decided to play with one of Maggie Eames' favourite ornaments. But his small hands had been unable to hold onto it for more than 2 seconds. When it fell to the floor, the echoing smash that had sounded, showing everyone that the precious delicate bowl had been damaged, caused the room to enter complete silence.

It was silent for all of two seconds before everyone went into action mode. Katie ran off to get the brush to sweep up the large fragments of glass. The young children were being taken out of the room, one for each adult who was near one, except for David who was clinging to Maggie in absolute tears, guilty that he'd broken something, it didn't matter what - he just knew that he'd done something wrong. John was already on his hands and knees picking up the less difficult to handle pieces whilst Alex held open a rubbish bag to put them into.

David then pulled himself away from Maggie, who wasn't strong enough to hold onto him. He rushed over to the fragments of the bowl. Steve tried to stop him but he was determined to help them clean up his mess. Mike, who'd seen him, sprung into action and lifted the boy up into his arms with pure ease. Katie returned with the brush and pan, she passed it to Eric who immediately began using it, she then took David out of Mike's hands. "It's okay, sweetie. Nobody's mad at you. Grandma isn't mad, are you Grandma?" Katie looked at her mother, allowing David to see her as well. Maggie shook her head and held out her arms for the boy to come back to her.

Alex looked at Mike, she'd seen what he'd done, and she felt a small pang of regret for her earlier doubts she'd had over Mike and her coming to visit today. He was having a good time and she decided that she needed to loosen up a little otherwise he would end up being the only one having a good time. She truly felt guilty for not contacting anyone for two months, she hadn't known that much time had passed.

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"So, does that happen often at dinner? Or was that something special you guys wipped up for me?" Mike asked, once he, Alex, Eric and Steve were in the basement, out of everyones way. Alex rolled her eyes at him but he just smiled at her.

Eric laughed, "Yeah, we do that to scare away all newcomers. You're still here though..." Eric looked at Steve, who was looking thoughtful.

"I don't think we're trying enough, Eric. Maybe we could pull that trick we played on Terry?" His voice full of humor, as he looked at Alex to see if that got the desired effect. It did, because she just stared at him as menacingly as possible.

"Who's Terry?" Mike asked, looking at Alex for some kind of clarification. The four of them were sitting around a small table, as if they were having a meeting. The basement was poorly decorated and it was clearly used as storage. The chairs they were sitting on were old, but it had been explained to Mike that the basement was their hideout from their parents when they were younger. It didn't need decorating because it represented freedom for them.

"Ex-boyfriend. It turned into a food fight. And no!" She looked at her brothers with a stern look, she didn't want to repeat the incident, she didn't want them to frighten Mike away like they had Terry. Although she knew Mike was a stronger person than that, she didn't want to take the chance.

Eric clicked his fingers as if to say 'bingo'. "Or we could just do the all-time favourite. Tell stories about her." Alex rolled her eyes and sighed in frustration.

"I'm game." Steve said, in agreement, rubbing his hands together enthusiastically. They heard footsteps and turned to see Katie and Jo rushing down the stairs. "What's up, girls? Had enough already?"

"No, no, don't worry. We're not here to cramp your style." Jo told him, sarcastically.

"We're actually here for Alex." Katie explained as they stood next to her and she looked up at them in confusion.

"Yeah, take her. We'll look after Mike." Eric told them, nodding his head to the point where it might fall off. It was evident what he was planning to do.

"Uh, actually..." Alex started, looking at Eric and then at Mike. Steve was grinning at the possibilities before them.

"No, we're having a girly chat since we haven't done one in absolutely ages." Katie told her, defiantly holding her ground. She and Jo each took a hold of one of her arms and pulled her up from her seat. She looked at Mike who shrugged, he wanted to hear some of these stories.

Sensing that she had no choice because she knew what her sisters were like and she did miss speaking to them so she said, "Alright." Alex shook herself lose of her sisters. "But no stories." she was pointing at Eric as the three girls walked away and up the stairs. "No stories, Eric, otherwise I'll have to kill you." Of course she didn't mean literally, but she felt good on her threat.

As soon as the girls were gone and out of earshot Eric looked at Steve and then at Mike, they all leaned forward to be near each other so that they could speak quietly. "So, any good stories?" Mike asked, knowing Alex might just carry out her threat on him too but it didn't matter, they were offering stories and he was willing to listen.

"Yeah, here's one..."

_Flashback: Alex: aged 16_

_"John, it's nearly 2 in the morning, don't you think you should go look for her again?" Maggie asked, her long blonde hair tyed back into a ball, dressed in her bed clothes, wearing sleepers, as she, her husband, Eric and Steve sat around the kitchen table waiting for Alex to come home. _

_"Honey, it won't do any good. I've already been out to look for her. She doesn't want to be found, she'll turn up." Johnny, her father, was keeping a tight, firm hold of his mug of coffee in his attempt to keep warm and stay awake. _

_"What about calling the police?" Maggie asked, worried about her youngest daughter and not for the first time since she'd been born. _

_"Honey, I am the police and I still can't do anything. I wish I could..." Johnny was interrupted by the outside door opening and they watched in disbelief as Alex, dressed all in black, go-go boots, a short-ish flared skirt and jacket, even her long hair was almost black. She walked straight in and tried to tiptoe past them. "We can see you!" he told her. She stopped and slowly turned around to the four people sat stunned at the dining table. _

_"Dad! Mom! What are you guys doing up?" Alex sounded nervous and understandably so. _

_"Do you know what time it is, young lady?" Her father asked, standing up tall. _

_"No." She replied, sarcastically, "That's why I've come back for my watch." she quickly turned on her heel and darted towards the kitchen door. _

_"Wait!!" Her father's voice boomed in the early hours of the morning. It's deep sound echoing in the still and almost quiet kicthen. The others at the table didn't dare to move. Alex kept on going through the door and through the living room. She made it all the way to the stairs when her father caught up with her. She got half way up before she gave up and turned around to meet the angry glare of her father. She looked at him with similar determination, she didn't want to back down despite the fact she was in trouble, alot of trouble. "Where have you been?" _

_Alex looked at the four of them at the bottom of the stairs, "Studying?" she offered. _

_"Studying? At this time of night?" her father asked, incredulously, Alex nodded her head to answer his question. "Alex! You don't study! That's why we have a whole drawer full of report cards from your teachers!" _

_Alex waved her hand dismissively, "Report cards don't mean anything. Teachers have a quota they have to fill out each week." she told him, with a little smile as she did so, "For some reason they always start with the letter 'A'." She shrugged but her father, however, didn't look convinced. _

_"Alex, you're going to come down those stairs and we're going to have a long chat!" he told her, pointing towards the bottom step, indicating to her that she should move. She was about to when her mother spoke up. _

_"John, it's late, let's hand out the punishment tomorrow." Maggie said, desperately tired. She knew the punishment was just going to be the same, she'd be grounded as per usual. _

_"No, I'm going to be out all of tomorrow, we do it now!" _

_"Oh, Dad. You're going to be tired if you don't sleep. We should just all go to bed!" Alex looked ready to turn and head back up the stairs when her father took a step forward and she changed her mind. _

_"The only peole who are going to bed are Eric and Steve. Me, you and your mother are staying up a little while longer." Johnny told them all. Alex reluctantly went back down the stairs as her brothers, just as reluctantly went up the stairs. They liked watching Alex get told off because she was just too sarcastic for own good. _

"Of course that's all we have because we went to bed. But I know they continued for at least an hour." Eric finished and Mike shook his head in amusement.

"Who knew she was such a rebel?" he mostly spoke to himself, he'd been laughing so hard throughout the story. Enjoying the comedic way the two brothers had told it.

"Oh God she was the biggest rebel in the family." Steve told him with a grin, "She hated being the youngest girl because for some reason Dad was always more protective of her than the others. Her problem was that she was so damned Snarky about it."

"Yeah, you remember how they used to try to outwit each other at the dinner table?" Eric asked Steve, who nodded whilst laughing at the memory. "Dad and Alex used to have what we now affectionately call 'The Battle of the Wits'." He chuckled before continuing. "They'd literally try to out-do each other with the greatest retort."

Steve snorted, "For some reason Alex always won."

Mike laughed wholeheartedly at that, he could believe it too. He'd enjoyed this insight into her life and he had known it would be funny, he just didn't realise it would be side-splitting. He now had stitch from laughing so hard. He was now glad that he'd convinced Alex to come because if not, he would've missed out on hearing some great stories.

------------------

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

**Meet the Parents**

Alex, Jo and Katie were sat in their old bedroom. It was still decorated in feminine colours, the floor was carpeted white with a purple rug at the bottom of the bed. The ottoman had cushions cover the lid, the cushions were a multitude of colours; blues, pinks, reds. It was the full rainbow of colours. The walls were still covered in the wallpaper they'd chosen when Alex was around 7 years old; her older sisters being allowed the option of choosing the paper. Alex could remember how upset she had been at that age when she wanted to really get on with her sisters but they were choosing colours she didn't like. Pink.

Alex was never a fan of pink. Hated it and she came to hate the room. When she was a teenager she'd specifically chosen black and grey clothes to become the shadow in the room. It was all apart of her rebellion; she often felt that the colour pink had started the whole thing off.

The three women, now much older, sat huddled on the bed nearest to the window. Katie was cuddling a cushion, whilst Jo handed Alex a cup of chocolate and kept one for herself. "So, come on then. Tell us all about Mike." Jo said, trying to encourage Alex to begin the conversation on their most recent acquaintance, Mike Logan.

Alex tried to hde it but she smiled slightly. But she refused to answer or talk about it to them. "And _don't_ tell me he's just a friend, because I've seen the way you two are looking at each other." Katie continued, with a grin on her face. "That's not how friends look at each other."

"Yeah, and look at you now!" Jo said, pointing at Alex's face. She was blushing slightly from the embarrassment at what her sisters had picked up. She'd really hoped that they wouldn't pick up on it.

"Okay, Okay, Okay." Katie said, holding up her hands, waving them around to usher Jo into silence for a moment. "Let's ask you a more direct question; how long have you known Mike?"

Jo looked at Katie and then at Alex, waiting for an answer. "I met him just over a year ago when he came to help with..."

"No, no." Katie interrupted. "Not that kind. How long have you _known _him?" Katie grinned when she noticed that Alex realised what she was asking. She was asking it in a way that didn't spell it out.

Alex sighed and finally conceded defeat, "About a month and a half."

Jo got all excited at that admission and was grinning wildly. Alex had expected as much, her sister Jo was the one in the family who got over-excited over the least little thing but especially when they were having conversations about men. "Alright, that's it! I want details and don't hold back!"

"There's... really, there's no details!" Alex replied, cringing a little over the topic of conversation.

"Not even a tidbit?" asked Katie, knowing full well that Alex was lying to them.

"What have you two been doing? Poking each other with sticks? Nearly two months and no details? We don't believe you!" Jo said, putting her chocolate down on the tray for fearing of spilling it onto the bed. Alex couldn't help but laugh at Jo's undeniable thirst for details and her direct way of asking for it.

Alex sighed, "Seriously." Both Katie and Jo looked at her and shook their heads slightly. "Alright, you want the details? Here you go; we've dated, we've kissed, we've held hands, we've danced!" Katie and Jo smiled and then Alex added, "We've slept together!" Their eyes opened wide at the way Alex said it with a smirk and then she laughed at them. "As in literal sleep." Jo slapped her on the arm. "Ow. We've just fallen to sleep several times on the sofa. That's it, there's your details." Alex rubbed her arm where her sister had slapped her.

"So, am I right in taking it that the two of you haven't... haven't?" Jo asked, implying the obvious, and Alex shook her head to tell her that she was right.

Katie smiled, "Aww, he sounds like a really romantic guy."

Alex looked down at her cup, using her index finger to circle the rim. "Yeah, he is." Both Jo and Katie didn't miss the sentimental, soft tone of voice that she used. They both looked at each other with a knowing smile.

"Oh, you're in love!" Katie announced with a huge smile.

Alex rolled her eyes, "No, I'm not!" she said, in denial.

"Yeah, you are." Jo said, also smiling.

"But don't worry we won't tease you now we know it's _that _serious." Katie told her, rubbing Alex's arm, with a kind smile on her face.

"Guys, I'm not in love!" Alex tried again, but it was no use because there was no way that they were going to believe her.

Katie and Jo looked at each and grinned, "Oh, denial!" they said in unison before laughing at each other and then turning to Alex. Katie was about to say something else but the bedroom door opened to reveal their father, John Eames, standing there, looking a little serious.

"Dad?" Jo asked. He smiled at them as a way of greeting.

"Could you two girls go downstairs and help John with those girls? They're killing each other down there." He asked Jo and Katie, "I need to speak to Alex." They nodded in response and turned to Alex.

"We've not finished this conversation." Jo told her, still determined to get some answers. She kissed her on the head. Katie did the same and then they left the room, closing the door behind them. Alex put her cup down on the tray next to Jo's and watched her father as he walked around the three beds and came over to the one she was sitting on. He sat on the foot of the bed whilst she sat at the head.

John looked at her as she watched him and then he sighed. "Honey, I just want to know what's been going on recently. I've spent the past few weeks trying to chase you up and considering your job I began to get a little bit more than worried about your safety."

"Dad, you know what it's like..." Alex started but he held up his hand to get her to stop.

"Alex, I'm not telling you off. I do know you're not a little girl anymore but that's never gonna stop me from worrying about you. I just need you to explain to me why you didn't contact us when you know your mother's not well." He explained, and he noticed the way Alex dropped her head in shame and guilt.

"Dad, I swear to you that if I'd known that much time had really passed, I would've called or something to let you know where I was and that I was okay... but I got caught up with this case and then it was just hard..." Alex's sentence just fell off and she lost track of herself and what she was trying to say. She looked up and sighed as she tried to find the words she was looking for. "Two months ago we got a case about Judge Garrett."

"I heard about that on the news." John said, when he recognised the name.

"Yeah, well, it got personal and some things were said and done that shouldn't have been..." Alex looked at her father, showing her sincerity. "And then I got caught up in other things."

"Mike?" He asked and she nodded. "Now see, was that hard? Why couldn't you say that this morning?"

Alex looked at him with a small smile, "You knew all along, didn't you?"

"Yeah, you've never been a good liar. Not to me, anyway." He replied, with a laugh.

She laughed and then she paused before speaking again, "I didn't say it this morning because I didn't think that I wanted it to 'come out'."

"You don't like him?" He asked, knowing that the answer was already 'no' but he couldn't understand why she didn't want him to know. She always told him everything and it hurt a little that she didn't want him to know this time.

"No, I do. I do. But I guess I wanted it to be..." her voice trailed off when she realised that she wasn't sure what she wanted it to be.

"A secret?" He asked, a small grin forming on his face. She nodded and he smiled, "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too." she apologised sincerely and they just moved closer to each other, holding each other in a tight bear hug. "We've got to work on our communication!" They laughed out loud and let go of each other.

---------------------

Mike Logan was being led back into the basement by none other than Johnny Eames. Everyone had since been told to abandon the basement because 'Dad' wanted a private chat with the 'new guy'. When they reached the bottom step, John turned to face him and they both stood facing each other. "So I guess this is the part where you test me?" Mike asked, he'd already been informed by Steve and Eric that you couldn't revise for the test and that he'd only get one with their father if he thought one was needed. Mike found the whole idea of a test quite funny and unusual but he couldn't forget that John was cop and his instinct was to protect.

"I've already tested you." He replied, calm and straight, not blinking at all.

Mike looked shocked, standing still wondering if he'd heard right. "Y-you have? What?"

"I'm not going to ask you what your intentions are toward my daughter because I already know the answer." He continued, completely ignoring the younger man's questions. Mike couldn't believe his ears.

"How?" Mike almost stammered the word out and he knew he looked stupid but this one had blindsided him.

"You know when you go off to have private conversations, you should really check to see who's behind the kitchen door." John told him, and then laughed when he saw the realisation hit Mike as it dawned on him that her father had heard them talking this morning in her kitchen. "And despite what you've been told, I don't literally 'test' men that they bring here. I just ask a few questions, so that I can sleep better at night without worrying if they're okay." He wasn't just referring to Alex, he was talking about all three of his daughters. He actually used to speak to the women his sons brought home as well, but he'd be lying if he said that he wasn't more protective of his daughters than his sons.

"You know I'm going to tell Alex about you listening in this morning." Mike told him, and John nodded.

"I expect you to, good answer." They heard footsteps and they both looked at the stairs to see Alex walking down them. Her face full of concerned as she looked wearily at the two men.

"Dad? What's going on?" She asked, reaching the bottom step, she stopped. John walked over to her and stroked her arm.

"Nothing, sweetheart." He then rushed back up the stairs. Alex watched him leave and then turned to Mike, her face showing how puzzled she was.

"Mike?" She asked, walking over to him.

He looked at her and then back up the stairs. He pointed towards the empty space that her father had inhabited. "He eavesdrops!" he informed her, which only added to her confusion. "This morning, when we spoke in the kitchen - he was listening behind the door." Alex gasped in a flare of anger and then turned to chase her father but Mike held her back using one hand to hold her arm. "No, it's okay."

---------------

Johnny Eames looked at the basement door to see five of his children, Katie, John, Steve, Jo and Eric near the door, their ears pressed firmly against it. "What the hell are you guys doing?" He asked, watching in amazement at how all five of them managed to get an ear to the door without making a noise.

"Sssh!" Eric put his finger to his mouth to tell him to be quiet.

"We're eavesdropping!" Jo told him with a grin, not taking her ear off the door. Johnny looked at them disapprovingly, shaking his head.

"Come on, join in." Steve said with a grin, waving his hand at him to join them. Deciding that since he'd already done it once, one more wouldn't hurt so he found a space on the door and pressed his ear against it.

"You people shouldn't do that, you know. She'll kill you when she finds out." Karl, Jo's husband said, whilst he was feeding their son, Nathan.

"Ssssh!" They all said in unison, not wanting to miss a thing.

---------------

Alex and Mike were now sat on the old chairs, sitting across from each other; close enough that their knees were grazing each other. "So has your Dad always tested boyfriends, or is this something he cooked up in the last few years?" Mike asked. Alex raised an eyebrow at him, her face smiling at him. "What?"

"Boyfriend?" She asked, "Is that what you're calling yourself?" Her face smiling the whole time she was talking.

Mike looked down at his knees, as they touched hers, and then looked back up at her, a small but unsure smile on his face. "Am-" pause "Am I wrong?"

Alex shook her head, happy tears threatening to fall but she smiled through her watery eyes. "No." she said, almost a whisper. She smiled at him, a full bright smile. He put his large hand on her neck, near her ear and used his thumb to stroke her cheek. He leaned forward and grazed his lips onto hers. Alex put her hands into his hair and pulled him closer to her.

Just as they were getting into the kiss she pulled away. She had a suspicious look on her face and Mike wondered briefly if he'd done something wrong. "Wait a minute!" She looked up at the ceiling of the basement. She whispered to Mike, "Have you noticed how it's quiet up there?" He nodded, after he listened for a minutes. She was right, there wasn't a single sound. Alex quickly stood up and quietly took her shoes off.

"What are you doing?" Mike whispered. She put her finger to her lips to indicate silence and then she tiptoed up the stairs. Mike watched her with fascination as the stairs didn't make a single sound, she knew exactly where to stand on every step so that no creaking sound was made. She reached the top and stood near the door for a moment, ensuring she couldn't be heard she quickly and effortlessly pulled open the door and watched as 6 people fell to the floor.

They were all laughing, albeit nervously, as they knew they'd not only been discovered for eavesdropping but they'd been caught red-handed by the person they had been secretly listening to. Alex watched them as they all scrambled to their feet. Her face was completely straight, void of any emotion as she watched them all look at her, deciding whether to stay or run like hell. They chose the latter and after one beat they all bolted towards the nearest exit. The back door.

Alex looked at her father, the only one who'd stayed. He shrugged and then she looked at Mike who had already walked up the stairs behind her and she grinned at him before charging off into the direction that her siblings had ran off into.

Mike looked at John as he clapped his hands as a decision was made. "Come on, Mike, you want a beer?" Mike nodded. "You like bud?" John asked, as they walked towards the refridgerator.

"Yeah, I love bud. How do you know?" Mike asked, thinking for a moment that John was pyschic or an extremely good guesser.

"I can't reveal my secrets!" John said, with a laugh, passing him the bud after he'd opened it.

-------------------

_Come on, let me know what you think. I had such a laugh writing this one. Who said humor doesn't exist in romace:P _


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